2026 Food Safety Research Priorities

Environmental Sanitation
FS1 Evaluate environmental contamination mapping and risk-based sampling strategies across raw and ready-to-eat (RTE) meat processing systems. Develop standardized, data-driven approaches to assist establishments in identifying critical vulnerabilities and sources of contamination within processing environments (including drains, equipment, and high-risk zones). Proposals should determine how to optimize sampling location and frequency, and how plant characteristics (size, age, and product mix) influence environmental risk and sampling effectiveness.
FS2 Investigate biofilm formation, detection, and control as a driver of persistent contamination in raw meat processing environments. Proposals should focus on identifying biofilm hotspots, understanding their role in pathogen survival and transmission (particularly Salmonella and STEC), and developing rapid, practical detection and sanitation methods. 
FS3 Develop new approaches and evaluate current strategies for effective intervention use and sanitation/cleaning of meat packing plants using reduced water usage. Proposals should identify validated methods, technologies, and intervention sequences that maintain or improve hygienic outcomes while minimizing water consumption. Proposals should evaluate the impact of reduced-water cleaning on microbial reductions, chemical residue control, and overall sanitary design performance.

 

General Food Safety
FS4 Evaluate Salmonella ecology, persistence, and control across beef processing systems. Proposals should characterize how Salmonella prevalence and levels vary across livestock, plant types, and processing conditions, including the influence of animal size, operational parameters and other factors on post-harvest safety. Proposals should also evaluate relationships between plant health indicators, chilling rates, and contamination risk, and identify improved detection and monitoring approaches.
FS5 Evaluate contamination dynamics and risk amplification across the beef supply chain. Proposals should map contamination pathways from pre-harvest through processing, transportation, and distribution, identifying points where contamination may be introduced, increase, and ultimately influence post-harvest beef safety. Studies should quantify how conditions, factors, and logistics influence downstream food safety risk to help identify interventions that reduce cross-stage contamination carryover.
FS6 Determine differences in localization of Salmonella serotypes critical to the beef industry, which may include macrophages, the lymphatic system and lymph nodes, and its implications for detection and control. Proposals should determine how this localization can affect persistence, detectability, and contamination risk in beef processing systems.
FS7 Evaluate the impact of chilling rate on Salmonella survival and localization in market hog carcasses and lymph nodes. Proposals should determine how different chilling rates and chilling system designs influence Salmonella levels, subtypes, persistence, and distribution within carcass tissues and associated lymph nodes. Proposals should assess whether rapid or modified chilling strategies reduce contamination risk or alter pathogen detectability and should provide data to inform optimal chilling parameters for food safety control and evaluation of potential indicator organisms. 
FS8 Identify Salmonella risks and evaluate control strategies across the sow and boar processing industry. Proposals should characterize prevalence, distribution, and persistence of Salmonella within sow and boar supply chains and processing environments. Studies should identify key risk points unique to these systems and evaluate effective interventions and process controls to reduce contamination.
FS9 Identify high-risk areas for STEC contamination across the beef grinding supply chain. Proposals should focus on the highest pathogenicity STEC and should map and quantify critical control points where contamination is most likely to occur or be amplified during grinding, trimming, blending, and downstream handling. Proposals should evaluate how raw material inputs, equipment design, and process flow contribute to contamination risk, and should inform targeted interventions and validation strategies for controlling STEC in ground beef systems.
FS10 Identify the highest-risk pork products and pathways associated with human Salmonella illness. Proposals should determine which specific pork products, processing practices, and supply chain conditions are most strongly linked to Salmonella illnesses. Studies should integrate epidemiological data, outbreak investigations, and product-level sampling to identify high-risk items (e.g., ground pork, fresh cuts, organs, ready-to-cook products). Proposals may also address innovative blended items such as the combination of ground beef and pork or evaluating potential connections between Salmonella illness in live hogs and the risk of subsequent foodborne illness. Overall proposals should help industry with risk ranking and attribution. 
FS11 Identify scientific and/or implementation gaps in currently available regulatory guidance documents (e.g., USDA-FSIS) and industry resources supporting meat food safety systems. Research should identify areas where existing recommendations are outdated, lack sufficient detail or scientific support, or where guidance and technical resources are absent despite demonstrated industry need. Projects should generate data to inform future updates to regulatory and industry guidance, support the development of new science-based resources, and improve the implementation of risk-based food safety systems.
FS12 Evaluate the fitness of serotypes of concern versus non-serotypes of concern on ground beef under stressors relevant to beef processing and storage, which could include temperature and antimicrobial application. Proposals should be designed to provide industry with information on the survivability of different Salmonella serotypes throughout beef grinding and storage.

 

Emerging Issues
FS13 Assess emerging food safety risks, including microplastics and other novel contaminants in meat products. Proposals should determine the presence, sources, and potential food safety implications of microplastics in meat items. Studies should evaluate contamination pathways (e.g., packaging, equipment, environment) and potential risk assessment methodologies.
FS14 Evaluate the impact of ingredient reduction and “clean label” reformulation strategies on Listeria monocytogenes and other pathogen risks in RTE products. Proposals should assess how reductions in antimicrobial or functional ingredients (e.g., lactates, nitrites, phosphates, or other formulation aids) influence microbial growth, shelf life and product safety as well as take into account any potential changes associated with GRAS evaluation. Studies should quantify changes in Listeria risk as well as other relevant pathogens (e.g., C. perfringens, S. aureus). 
FS15 Develop new approaches to improve attribution of foodborne illness to specific meat and poultry products. Proposals should evaluate and advance methodologies that strengthen the linkage between human illness data and specific meat and poultry products. This may include improved genomic epidemiology, enhanced traceback systems, integration of retail and upstream data, and novel modeling approaches. Proposals should aim to increase precision in identifying product-specific sources of sporadic and outbreak-related illness. Proposals should help industry and public health experts better identify specific food items that make individuals sick. 
FS16 Evaluate innovative, cross-cutting food safety approaches that address critical and emerging risks in meat and poultry systems. Proposals should explore novel, high-impact concepts that do not fit within existing priority areas but demonstrate clear potential to improve food safety outcomes. Proposals should be innovative in methodology (e.g., new detection technologies, data integration, predictive modeling, utilization of AI to improve food safety or intervention strategies), and should clearly articulate how the research will reduce pathogen prevalence, improve detection, or mitigate contamination risk in meat or poultry products across the supply chain. Emphasis should be placed on projects with strong translational potential and measurable industry or public health impact.